“That’s the house! Right there, Blaine.”

“Yes, I know. I’ve been here before.”

Using his vampire sight, Gunner scanned the windows, searching for Imogen’s shadow behind the curtains.

As he was slowing the car, Blaine shouted, “Hey!” when Gunner opened his door and leaped out. “Don’t forget the flowers!”

“Right!”

Gunner turned back and reached inside for the bouquet he’d brought for his Bloodmate.

As they had been travelling, on their way to Lee’s home, the closer Gunner came to where Imogen was, the less unsettled he felt. The Thirst he had was still there inside him, but it was not controlling him with such a fierce intensity as it had. To him, that could only mean one thing: His woman was waiting for him.

Flashing to the porch, he pressed the doorbell button and heard the chiming inside the house.

Who’ll answer? Will it be her?

As soon as the thought entered his mind, he knew that Lee wouldn’t allow her to approach him alone. When the door opened, Lee walked out and shut it behind him.

“I’ve got a table set for you both on the back patio by the pool. Hey, she’s nervous.”

“Why would she feel that way? I’m not here to hurt her.”

“Because I told her what the deal is between you two.”

“That’s my job as her mate!”

“Cool your jets, Gunner. I didn’t tell her all of it. I left the important things for you, so don’t mess it up.” Lee looked him over from head to toe in assessment. “Nice suit.” He nodded to Blaine, who had walked over to them. “Hey, Blaine, you’re not leaving, are you?”

“Well, I wasn’t planning anything other than getting Gunner here safely. Hadn’t thought past that.”

“Come hang out with Piper and me and have a drink.”

“Sounds good.”

“Lee, move outta the way and let me go to her.”

He nodded, and Gunner stepped around him and entered the home. His eyes immediately went to the woman seated at the bar with her back to him. Her dark hair flowed down to her small waist, before flaring out to her wide hips. Gunner stood there a moment, taking the vision of her in and rehearsing the lines he’d practiced in his head on the way over. He didn’t want to scare her with his passion.

Piper glanced back over her shoulder, faked a cough, and nudged Imogen. She set her glass of white wine on the counter and swiveled her seat around to face him.

“Immie, allow me to introduce Gunner,” Lee said from behind him.

“No need,” Gunner said, as he strode with heavy steps to where she sat. Lifting the arrangement, he presented it to her. “For you, Imogen.”

She still hadn’t spoken and made no move to take the flowers from him. Their eyes were caught, trapped on each other’s, as he stepped towards her and set the bouquet beside her wine.

As he leaned over, near her mouth, some stiff curls fell onto his face, and she reached up, trailing a finger down his cheek, as he waited for her to close the distance between them.

“It’s you,” she breathed out with a soft smile.

“Let’s go,” Piper whispered, and then Gunner heard the back door shut.

They were alone.

Gunner wanted nothing more than to lay her down and claim her as his, to sink his cock and fangs into her, to drink her red essence while her pussy convulsed around him. But that would only happen in his bed, where he could make her scream his name from pleasure at what he was doing to her.

Her scent rose around him, and the desire to spread her thighs and eat her open pouring pussy began to overwhelm him. He pushed the impulse away, wanting to ease her jitters that Lee had mentioned. Though she was his fated mate, and the pull to her was undeniable, he didn’t want to pressure her. Neither one of them knew anything about the other, aside from their need, and he intended to rectify that.

Imogen stood, moving closer to him, and he leaned in to press a kiss on her cheek. The lavender smell of her shampoo drifted up, and he buried his nose in her hair for a moment.

Giving way to his internal musings, Gunner looked into her eyes and said, “I’ve finally found you.”

She blushed, as she curled a strand of her hair around her ear and licked her lips.

“How long have you been looking?”

“It feels like years.” Taking her hand, he led her back to her seat. “Would you have a drink with me?”

“I’d like that, Gunner.”

“Lee said that he prepared a table outside, but where would you like to be?”

“I’d like to stay here if that’s okay. It’s a little chilly. He lit the fire pit, but….”

“That sounds perfect to me,” he said, finalizing her decision for her.

Reaching for a goblet, he poured the wine into it and then raised it for a toast.

“To you, Imogen.”

“Me?”

“To your beauty and grace and...” He gestured to the bottle. “...to your exquisite taste.”

She smiled at his rhyme, and his heart swelled.

“Oh, that was Lee’s doing,” she said, waving her hand in dismissal. “I don’t know much about wine other than I like to drink it.”

“Then, you’ve got the best part down.”

“Are you a connoisseur?”

“Hardly. Though, I do have a cellar with some rare vintages. I’d love to show it to you sometime.”

“That would be nice.”

“Maybe we could have drinks tomorrow night inside it. It’s beautiful when lit by candlelight.” He paused, gauging her reaction. “If you’ll agree to see me again, that is.”

She smiled faintly, as she looked askance.

A beat passed, and then she said, “What do you do? Your occupation, I mean. Lee mentioned something about your being in law enforcement.”

She raised her glass but paused before she took a drink.

“Yes, I was, but not now,” he replied, hedging his response. “I guess you could say I’m between jobs. We’ll see where I land. And you?”

She pointed outside the window.

“That’s my van,” she said, as she smiled with pride. “I’m a mobile pet groomer.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen one so large.”

“I hadn’t, either, but it’s perfect for my business. It’s about twelve feet long and a little over six feet tall inside.” He watched her, as she gazed at him, taking him in slowly from his head to his feet. “It’s too short for you to stand up back there, but I can easily. And it has a sink for me to bathe the animals and a table where I can cut their hair. Shelves for storage, too. I just connect to my customer’s outside water spigot and electricity.”

He sipped his wine, taking note of the subtle hint of vanilla.

Looking at her with a mischievous smirk, he said, “So, you’re saying Lee’s using your services?”

Imogen fell into a fit of giggles, and he laughed with her.

“Oh, my God. Don’t let him hear you say that!”

After a pause, as he waited for her to regain her composure, he took a risk and asked, “Why else would you be here tonight?”

“After what Lee told me, I wanted to meet you.”

“And what was that?”

She coyly demurred from what he knew Lee had told her, regarding their being drawn together by a force outside of themselves, and what she’d said earlier.

“That I’d find you interesting.”

“And how am I stacking up so far?”

“I’d really enjoy talking to you more.”

“May I?” he said, as he gestured to the seat that Piper had vacated.

“Please.” As their eyes connected once again, Gunner sat, facing and leaning slightly in towards her. Imogen’s voice lowered, as she said, “I should be honest with you, Gunner. Lee told me a bit about what’s going on between you and me.” She sighed, as she set her glass on the bar. “This is so mind-boggling, this feeling that I have. It’s like I already know the answers to all the important questions I have about you... and us. This certainty that we’ve been brought together by fate. I’ve always believed in the forces of the universe, ya know, like an outside power guiding our lives… but I never dreamed there was something as intense as this.” She paused, pondering her last statement. “What I’m saying sounds crazy in my head.”

“It’s the same for me, Imogen. Everything you just expressed. In my heart, I’m sure that we’ll be happy.” Canting his head to the side, he went on, “But I get your meaning. This is kind of like speed-dating… on steroids.” She laughed, as she nodded, and he took her hand in his. “But that being said, now that we’ve found each other, I don’t wanna rush you.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s navigate the way forward together at whatever speed you’re comfortable with.”

“I’d like that.”

Suddenly, there was a commotion of shouts and loud strikes against the front door. When it broke down, four armed men clad in riot gear poured through it, each carrying a crossbow loaded with wooden spikes, as Imogen screamed in terror. Gunner leaped in front of her to shield her.

“What’s going on?” she shrieked, clutching the back of his jacket.

“Stay back and let me handle it. Go behind the bar. Now.”

“There she is!” shouted one of the assailants, gesturing towards Imogen, as she followed Gunner’s command.

“You’ll have to get through me first!” Gunner thundered, fangs lengthened, as he launched himself at the guy nearest to him.

Quick as lightning, he yanked the bow from his hands, broke it in half over his raised leg, and impaled him with the pieces in the center of his chest. The man crumpled to his knees, before exploding into a shower of ash. It landed on Gunner’s suit, turning the black cloth gray, as he jerked at a sudden pain in one of his shoulders and then the other.

“That should immobilize him enough,” a male voice said, as Gunner began to fall to the floor. “Get her!”

“Gunner!” Imogen screamed, as four assailants stomped closer with their weapons raised. “Lee! Help me!”

The area descended into a wholesale slaughter, as Lee and Blaine ran inside, ripping the attackers apart with their bare hands.

“Stay back, Piper!” Lee yelled, as he tore into the closest man.

Lee’s wolf burst forth from within him, and he launched at the next. His jaws clamped down on the guy’s neck, ripping his head off.

“What can I do?” Imogen asked, as she crawled over to be beside Gunner.

He could see the tremors running through her, as the battle raged around them.

“I can’t move my arms! Yank these things out, baby!” he yelled. “Hurry, so I can protect you! I’ll be fine once they’re removed!”

With a gentle tug, she attempted to dislodge the stake, but it refused to budge.

“Pull harder, Imogen! You’re not gonna hurt me!”

“I’m trying!” she cried, as her fingers trembled.

“Take my hand and help me reach across my body.”

“Okay!”

She grabbed it and drew it over his chest to the opposite side, and he tried several times to take hold of the stake, but his grasp weakened too much to jerk it from his shoulder.

“You have to do it!” Gunner said, eyeing the fray and the men scrabbling their feet on the floor, as they attempted to get away from Lee and Blaine. “Hurry!”

Just as he felt the wooden intruder leaving the muscles of his right shoulder, one guy got free.

“Give it to me!” Gunner shouted, reaching for it.

Imogen released it, as he took it from her, and he launched it at the attacker. It struck his forehead, impaling him, and he fell to the ground. Needing his opposite side free, Gunner took hold of the stake but was unable to remove it.

“That’s the last of them. They’re all dead,” Blaine said, as he tossed a body out the back door. He then took his phone from his pocket. “I’m calling it in.”

“Who the fuck were those guys?” Piper asked.

“I can’t get the other one out!” Gunner shouted.

“Here, let me do it,” Blaine said, as he went over and grasped it. “Brace yourself, Gunner. You’re lucky it didn’t hit your heart.”

Preparing himself for the coming pain of both the extraction and the healing, he stiffened, as Imogen scooted back to give them room. She shrieked at the force at which Blaine jerked the object out of Gunner’s shoulder, as blood ran out of the hole it left. He watched her face and the fascination held in it, as his flesh stitched itself back together.

Gunner reached for her, gathering her into his arms. She allowed him to hold her in his safety, as she trembled at the alarming violence that occurred during their tender moment of mutual discovery.

“I’m taking you to my home, Imogen. They were here for you, not me. They said as much. I have an idea of why, and you need to trust me in this.”

She looked at Lee with a quizzical expression, as her eyes widened, and red blossomed over her cheeks. Wondering what was causing that reaction in her, Gunner glanced over and saw that Lee was naked. He held the hiss inside of him, as Piper slapped a dishtowel in front of his crotch.

Clutching the cloth in front of him, Lee said, “Gunner would die before he’d let anyone hurt you, Immie.”

“I would.”

Gunner stood and began walking towards the door, carrying her in his arms.

“I need my bag.”

Piper took off to get it, and when she came back, she handed it to Imogen, who placed it in her lap.

“Thank you, Piper. For everything.”

Nodding, she replied, “You’re welcome.”

With desire flowing from him, Gunner gazed upon Imogen, and despite what had happened, he could sense that she was anxious to go with him. From the instant he laid eyes on her, it was as if a piece of his soul had moved into place.

“Keys,” Blaine said, handing them to Gunner. “The blood stores were just refilled this morning.”

“I have no use for them now. Imogen is all I need from this night forward.” Hearing what he said, a delicious and tantalizing shiver went through her at the possibilities of what he meant. Shifting his stance, Gunner said, “Thanks, Lee.”

“Remember what I told you, vampire.”

Gunner carried Imogen out of the house and to the car, turning his head left and right, as he scanned the surroundings for any other attackers. After setting her on her feet, he opened her door, and she got in.

He jogged around and folded himself inside, and then he adjusted the seat farther back.

“This should feel weird, but it doesn’t,” she murmured.

“Because you’re mine,” he replied. “Your heart recognizes its mate, Imogen. Like you said, we were intended to be made one.”